


light it up, on the run

by karasunonolibero



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Alternate Universe - Summer Camp, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-23
Updated: 2020-10-23
Packaged: 2021-03-08 23:28:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,071
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27164587
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/karasunonolibero/pseuds/karasunonolibero
Summary: The first team to retrieve all five glow sticks and bring them back to their own team’s side wins the game—and consequently, the Color War. Blue and Purple have been battling it out all summer only for this one game of Capture the Flag to be the tiebreaker. Sugawara isnotabout to let victory slip away at the eleventh hour.
Comments: 2
Kudos: 11





	light it up, on the run

**Author's Note:**

> hello i'm so excited to share the piece i wrote for the [haikyuu summer camp zine](https://hq-campzine.tumblr.com/post/631522050416246785/zine-release)! recalling some of my own summer camp stories was so much fun and i'm pretty happy with his this piece came out!
> 
> aaaaand the title has come from [dusk till dawn](https://youtu.be/tt2k8PGm-TI) by zayn ft. sia

The moon is high and the raw smell of mud hangs heavy in the air, the earth still wet from last night’s rain shower. The grass squeaks slightly under Sugawara’s sneakers as he fidgets under the light of the half moon. He crouches low, tugging stray locks of pale hair under his black beanie, feeling the wetness seep through the knee of his jeans.

Next to him, Daichi adjusts the headlight strapped to his forehead. “Are you ready?” 

“As we’ll ever be, I guess.” Sugawara shrugs. 

“We’re strong together.” Oikawa sneaks up on his other side, tying a bandana around his head. Sugawara wonders what he thinks that’ll do for him. “Sure, Purple Team has a lot of athletic people like that Ushiwaka kid, but we hid our flags well, and if we stick with the plan, we’ll win.”

In the distance, a whistle blows. “Go, go, go,” Daichi whispers. Sugawara doesn’t need any more encouragement. He takes off, sprinting toward the string of multicolored Christmas lights that bisect the meadow, and before he knows it, he’s in Purple territory. He slows down, wincing at the squishy wet noises his sneakers make as he treks through a muddy patch of the field.

He’s looking for one of five purple glow sticks. The first team to retrieve all five glow sticks and bring them back to their own team’s side wins the game—and consequently, the Color War. Blue and Purple have been battling it out all summer only for this one game of Capture the Flag to be the tiebreaker. Sugawara is _not_ about to let victory slip away at the eleventh hour.

He keeps low as he sneaks further into Purple territory. He expects they’ll be more on guard for attacks from the likes of Bokuto or Oikawa; he’s banking on being the surprise. 

“This way!” he hears someone shout, followed by the thundering of half a dozen teenage boys running in one direction. He stiffens, then flattens himself to the ground for good measure. If he’s caught, he’ll be sent to ‘prison’—each side has a holding area for tagged opponents—and need Daichi or someone to come and save him. He doesn’t plan on needing a rescue tonight. 

He takes another few steps, keeping his eyes peeled for any hint of a glow stick. If it were darker out, they’d be easier to spot, but at least the moon isn’t full—that would make this ten times harder.

Suddenly, he spots a glow stick sitting innocuously behind a pile of stones. Unguarded. Barely even hidden in the grass. Sugawara pauses, eyes darting back and forth. This has to be a trap. Still, he creeps closer, stalking in the grass like a predator. 

There’s the rustling of wet grass a few feet in front of him, and then a head pops up.

“We meet again.”

Sugawara’s eyes narrow as he gets a glimpse of his challenger. “Tendou.”

They’re actually pretty good friends, most of the time, but both of them have a nasty competitive streak that always comes out when they’re up against each other. Coincidentally, this summer’s Color War games have had them head-to-head in nearly every event; Sugawara won’t admit it, but he’s still not over Tendou blocking his attack for the game-winning point during Week Four’s volleyball game. 

Washed in pale tones by the moonlight, Tendou’s upright hair resembles the blades of grass. He grins, waggling his index fingers. “Go on, Suga-Suga. See what happens.”

Sugawara risks a glance back down at the glow stick. He’s the same distance from it as Tendou is, and he thinks he may be faster than Tendou. Possibly. Is that a risk he wants to take?

“We’re at a stalemate, it seems,” Sugawara observes. 

Tendou rocks back on his heels. Sugawara stays crouched. “So?”

“So,” Sugawara replies.

A cheer goes up from across the field. Sugawara recognizes it as a group from Tendou’s cabin and scowls. Tendou’s grin widens. “If you take this one, you’ll even the score.”

“Do you think we’re that desperate already?”

“It would be smart not to let yourselves fall behind.”

“Perhaps.” It’s now or never, really—they could easily stay here deadlocked and staring at each other for the rest of the night. Sugawara could leave now and return with backup, but Tendou might do the same. It’s now or never. He backs up a step, watching confusion flicker across Tendou’s face, and then bolts.

He closes the distance between him and the glow stick in six long strides, crouching low to snatch it from behind the rocks. Heels dig into the mud as he switches directions and dashes the other way, Tendou hot on his heels. Tendou’s calling for help; Sugawara doesn’t have much time. The path from here to safety is a straight line through an open field, no cover to shield him or aid his escape. It’s down to pure speed. He doesn’t waste time zigzagging, instead focusing on pumping his legs as hard as he can. 

“Blue has a flag!” someone shouts, and there’s the sound of feet running in his direction. 

“Suga!” Oikawa shouts to him. “You’re almost here!” With a final burst of speed, Sugawara crosses the boundary line and skids to a stop, safe in Blue territory. “Good job.”

“How many do we have?”

“Only yours. Purple got one of ours, so we’re even.”

Sugawara bends over, hands resting on his knees as he catches his breath. His heart is racing, feeling like it’s threatening to beat right out of his chest. “I don’t know if all of Purple’s flags are like this, but this one was out in the open, and Tendou surprised me. Tell your cabin to stay alert around flags that look unguarded. I don’t want them getting ambushed.”

Oikawa nods sharply and takes off. 

As the moon rises in the sky and the night wears on, the game continues. Sugawara has no idea how long they’ve been out here for. All he knows is that now, Purple took three of their flags and they have four of Purple’s; one more and Blue wins. He also knows that his entire cabin got caught in an ambush, so they’re all in prison. Daichi had shouted across the field for Sugawara to carry on and just focus on getting the final flag. Sugawara had rolled his eyes, and if he could have punched Daichi, he would have. Like hell he’s going to let Daichi spend his last camp game in prison.

He and Akaashi were forced to hastily cobble a plan together, one that wouldn’t draw too many team members away from offense or defense but would be sufficient to protect each other. Akaashi runs ahead of him, silent in the grass. Sugawara trails him at a distance, keeping watch for any Purple team members who might be guarding the prison. Is this like the first flag he encountered—left unguarded in hopes of luring opponents in for a surprise attack?

Daichi must notice them, because then he starts waving and calling out. “Hey—”

Sugawara holds a finger to his lips and shakes his head. This is supposed to be a stealth mission, and if Daichi screws it up by calling attention to them, they’re basically sunk.

There’s a sudden cheer from Purple’s side, followed by a quiet swear from Akaashi. They’re neck and neck now, down to the final flag. Akaashi is still moving ten yards ahead of him, sticking to the plan. Sugawara stands up, decides to throw the plan out the window, and takes off in a run.

“Suga!” Akaashi hisses as he passes; Sugawara ignores him, dashing toward Daichi, who’s begun to shout.

“Be careful! They’ll ambush you!” he’s calling. 

“There’s no time!” Sugawara shouts in response.

“Prison break! Prison break!” someone yells. Sugawara’s time is running out _fast_. He tags half his cabin out before Daichi pulls him back toward Blue territory.

“You have to go! We get a free walkback, but you don’t!”

With a Purple team member chasing him down, Sugawara has no choice but to run. 

“Head for the trees!” Akaashi yells, directing Sugawara’s cabinmates back toward the woods on the Blue side. “Go find Bokuto and Iwaizumi, fast!”

He’s just twenty yards from safety. He’ll make it, and then he can find the others to come up with a plan for the final flag, and then—

He’s facedown in the wet grass, feet having slipped right out from under him. _Damn it_. 

“Got you!” his pursuer exclaims with glee. He sounds far too close for comfort. Sugawara rolls to the side and takes off again, yelping as his pursuer’s hand comes within an inch of his arm. 

“Not yet you don’t!” he retorts, making the final leap back into Blue territory. 

They still have one flag left.

Akaashi is nowhere to be found; Sugawara hopes he’s met up with the others. He heads into the forest, picking his way through the trees until he finds Daichi, Bokuto, and Oikawa speaking in hushed, frantic voices. 

“Where are the others?”

“In Purple territory,” Oikawa says with a snort. “Just the two of them. I told them it was too dangerous to go alone.”

“We have one flag left and so do Purple. I don’t think this is the time to be careful,” Sugawara points out. “You don’t win by playing safe.”

“Yeah, but—”

“We need to go big,” Bokuto decides. “Create a big distraction they can’t ignore! Some of us can volunteer to do that while the others look for the flag.”

“But we have no idea where it is. That could be a waste of time,” Daichi points out.

In the distance, Sugawara hears twigs snapping as someone runs toward them, and then Akaashi appears with Iwaizumi by his side. Iwaizumi has leaves stuck in his hair and grass stains all over his shorts, and Akaashi doesn’t look much better. “We found it.”

“You what?” Sugawara gawks. Neither of them appear to be holding it, so…

“We saw it, but there were too many of them around it. You know how they have the lake to the southwest? It’s near a tree about ten feet from the shore.” Akaashi picks a leaf off of his shoulder. “They know we know where it is. Now we just need to get it.”

“Here’s what I think we should do.” Iwaizumi beckons them closer and lays out his plan. Sugawara looks up, catches Daichi’s eye, and grins. 

They can do this.

~

Sugawara crouches behind a tree, flatting his back to the trunk. Is he making too much noise? He must be breathing too loud. Slowly, he pokes his head out and searches the shadows for his teammates. Akaashi dashes by, followed by Oikawa. He sneaks out, half step by half step; a pinecone crunches under his foot, cracking so loudly it immediately summons someone to him.

“Back for more?”

“Tendou,” Sugawara hisses, whirling around and circling the tree warily.

“Methinks Suga-Suga has a little crush on me, to keep coming back for me,” Tendou teases him, lunging out of the shadows toward him. Sugawara jumps back; Tendou laughs. “Scared ya?”

 _You don’t win by playing safe_ , Sugawara had said to Bokuto just ten minutes earlier. Maybe he should take his own advice. So he lets his lips curve into what he hopes is a teasing grin of his own. “Methinks Tendou has a little crush on _me_ , perhaps,” he retorts sweetly, parroting Tendou’s mocking words right back at him. “Did they assign you to guard me because you _liiiiike_ me?”

He laughs; Tendou scowls. “You’re tricky.”

Sugawara sweeps into a little bow. “Thank you, we all are. And thank you for being such a good distraction.”

“What?”

Just then, Oikawa sprints past him, pressing the glow stick into Sugawara’s hand, and now it’s his turn. 

“Suga, go!” Bokuto calls as Tendou chases him down. Sugawara puts on one last burst of speed, adrenaline racing through his veins as he slips and slides through the mud. Across the field, on the other side of the Christmas lights, he can see the rest of the Blue team waiting for him, reaching out for him. 

“You’re close! Don’t give up now! He’s right behind you!” his campers shout, cheering him on and jumping up and down.

Thirty feet. Twenty. Ten. Ten feet between him and the Color War trophy. 

Sugawara holds his breath and leaps.

**Author's Note:**

> as always, thank you for reading! you can download the PDF at [this link](https://hq-campzine.tumblr.com/post/631522050416246785/zine-release)!
> 
> [tumblr](https://karasunonolibero.tumblr.com/) / [twitter](https://twitter.com/karasnonolibero)


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